Glittering Diamonds
by brilliantly confused
Summary: A murder, a diamond heist, and a visit lead to new depths in the Castle-Beckett partnership.  *Formally: Distorted Perception*
1. Prologue

Hi! Well, thanks for joining me on my first foray into the Castle world. This story is mostly outlined and a chunk of it is written. I'll be updating every Monday, or such is the intent. I will admit to not having seen season two after Boom or any of season three, but the last four episodes. I'm working to get caught up, but considering I began this little project over the summer, the setting is in the not too distant future after Boom. Please, please, please leave some honest feedback - good and bad. I have the ideas for a 5 story arc floating around if this is well recieved. Plus, I'm looking for a long term beta, hopefully to stick with me through the whole thing. Here are the first two chapters!

-BC **12.6.10**

**Disclaimer**: Property of ABC and Andrew Marlowe.

Now...Enjoy.

* * *

"Dr. Parish!" a rookie cop called as she exited the Medical Examiner's van. "This way," he told her, jerking a thumb over his shoulder to point down the alley.

"Thanks," she muttered as she ducked under the crime scene tape and strode past him. "Do I look like I can't find my way around a crime scene, Max?" she questioned as she joined his older partner farther down the alley.

"Oh, cut him some slack, Doc," he groused. "The kid's excited - it's his first murder on the beat and it's definitely Beckett flavored."

"Already tossed his cookies, huh?" she laughed as they rounded the corner to the back of the building.

"Barely made it to a nearby trashcan. Of course, crime scene is going to hate him when they search for evidence there. Plus, the others are already givin' him hell - Beckett's disapproval paired with Esposito and Ryan's teasing will just be the icing on the cake. Even the couple that found the body did better than him."

She laughed, "Poor kid; but, just realize how much worse it will be when Castle adds a scene to his next book based on it - immortalized forever, in writing, that he has a weak stomach." Turning serious as they reached the scene, she ordered, "Now, tell me about this body."

* * *

"Mother? What are you doing here?" Richard Castle questioned as he straightened from his slumped position on the couch. "It's almost one."

"Hello, darling," she greeted, coming to press a kiss to his cheek. "I just wanted to grab another box on my way home - I'm headed there from rehearsal," she explained.

"I see. How is the role of the crazy, but lovable, old woman progressing?" he inquired as she joined him on the couch.

"You forgot leading lady in that description, mister," she chastised, lightly hitting him in the back of the head with her clutch.

"Ouch," he complained, rubbing his head and chuckling slightly. "Well, adoring fans everywhere want to know when premier tickets will become available."

"Already done." Reaching in her clutch, she produced a handful of tickets. Fanning them out, she showed him all ten. "Just enough for my favorite granddaughter, my son and his muse, her boys, their captain, that lovely M.E., and Detective Ryan's girlfriend. Oh, and my Chet."

"Haven't put any thought into who to invite, huh?" he smirked. "But, that's nine people and ten tickets."

"Don't be silly, darling; Roy is bringing his wife."

"I see. Are we still on a 'the bigger the group, the louder the cheers' philosophy?"

"I don't know what you mean," Martha denied. "Aren't you going to answer that," she said, indicating his ringing cell.

"Castle," he answered, looking at the caller ID and heading for his office. "Why, detective, did you just miss me that much?" The closing door cut off the rest of the conversation. Martha just smiled and headed to find that box.


	2. Chapter 1

"Hey, girl," Lanie called as Beckett approached. "No shadow yet?"

"Hey," she returned. "He's with Esposito and Ryan. Some of the guys were chatting at the tape. Hopefully, they're getting some info to go along with that gossip."

"Oh, it's some newbie's first scene – threw up and everything. You're not going to get much the first time they come back here besides gossip." Lanie observed as Kate tried to suppress a smirk. "Tell me you're not surprised," she started.

"Lanie, focus on the body," Kate interrupted before the M.E. could really start in.

"Alright. Geez, girl," Lanie reluctantly agreed. "As you can see, our friend came to the party, but got a little tangled up before he could leave," Lanie joked. "I'm going to go with tentative cause of death, barring any surprises," she said, pointing to the bullet hole in the victim's temple. "It only looks like he struggled slightly against the duct tape binding his hand to the doorknob; no dislocations, no bruising from what I can tell right now. I'll need to get him laid out flat instead of sitting down."

"Other than the obvious, anything worth mentioning?"

"Nope. Awfully warm night for the gloves crime scene found in his pocket, but nothing else jumps out at me. We'll have to get him away from the door to check for sure, but it looks like there is no disturbance to the door. Boy almost looks like he was trussed up and left here as a present for someone to find."

"Great. Thanks," she said, preparing to go corral 'her boys.'

"Hold up," Lanie said, laying her hand on her friend's shoulder. "Everything going okay?"

"Why wouldn't it be?" Kate returned, shooting Lanie an odd look.

"Beckett!" Castle called, approaching them. "Uh, is our dead body bound to that door?" he questioned, stopping to stare.

"Nah, Castle, it's all an illusion. He decided to just take a nap. That's why they interrupted all of our nights."

"Har har," he answered, unimpressed with Beckett's mocking sarcasm.

"Hate to break up the love fest and all," Lanie interjected, haning up her phone, "but it looks like I'm needed at another scene. Girl, don't expect anything until tomorrow sometime – Perlmuter's already at his own scene and it's a multiple. You," she directed towards Castle with a smile, "Don't get into too much trouble."

As Lanie hurriedly gave instructions to a tech, the boys finally joined them. "Well?" Beckett questioned them.

"I almost feel bad for the kid," Ryan started.

"But, then ya remember that he essentially contaminated our crime scene. That's when you decide he's getting what he deserves," Esposito added.

"What happened?" Castle questioned, his interests peeked.

"Later, Castle," Beckett chastised. "Esposito, see what you can do about finding the owner or manager of this place. If they have working cameras back here, we need to see them. Plus, let's see if there's any reason as to why he's here in particular." As he stepped back to start making calls, Beckett turned to Ryan. "9-1-1 calls. Get the call, talk to the couple that found the body. See if everything lines up. If so, let 'em go, but know how to find them later."

"On it," he said, making a beeline for the couple back towards the yellow tape.


	3. Chapter 2

**12.13.10** Mistakes are mine. I'll come back through and edit one last time after I'm not sick. Reviews might even make me feel better! :) Thanks for reading, guys.

* * *

"I'm so fricking happy it's a Friday night and we've already got a body to interrupt our supposed weekend off," Esposito groused as they stepped into the elevator.

"Let it go, man. We all had plans and, if we don't get leads, our weekends are shot," Ryan commented, obviously upset about his canceled plans with Jenny.

Caslte clapped a hand on Ryan's shoulder in support before following Beckett off the elevator, leaving the boys behind. "I'm gonna grab some coffee," Castle commented. Beckett nodded him off as she followed headed to her desk with the boys following behind and intent on reaching their desks as well.

"Busy night for murder, huh?" the Captain commented as he joined Beckett on her walk.

"Apparently," she agreed. "Lanie was already headed off to another scene right from ours."

"What do we have?" he asked, taking Castle's chair as she sat down.

"Besides the fact that our victim was trussed up with duct tape, wearing unseasonable warm clothing, and left a good deal of his brain splattered across the building? No indication why the guy was there. The victim was duct taped to the backdoor of a jewelry store with a shot to the temple, most definitely close range. There was no I.D. on him and Lanie didn't give me too much information. One of the techs gave me general info, but that's it. He's five seven with dark brown hair and brown eyes. No signs of disturbance, besides the obvious few, but CSU is still combing the alley."

"Poor, people, sifting through the puke and everything."

"It was close enough range for a through-and-through," Kate continued, ignoring Castle's interjection. "Bullet's already been retrieved. They're running it against the system to see if the gun's been used in any other crimes."

"Let me know what you find out," Montgomery said, standing. Both nodded in acknowledgement and watched him go.

Looking over at the boys, Kate watches Esposito talk on his cell, before noticing Ryan heading in their direction. "I got the scoop on the call from the dispatcher and it matched with the couple's, but I just talked to dispatch and they have a copy of the tape ready for us. I'm gonna go pick it up."

"Good work, Ryan. We'll be here," she told him. Pulling out a pen, she began her file for the case using notes from the crime scene. Not even stopping to look up, she noted, "It's still creepy as all hell with you watching me like that, Castle."

"Uh, sorry," he offered, shifting uncomfortably in his chair.

"Just research the area he was found in, or something," she ordered, exasperation quite clear in her voice. "At least attempt to be useful."

Looking guilty, and knowing that he was pushing her patience pretty early on in this case since she seemed so snappish, he moved to Esposito's desk and pulled up the internet browser and typed in the address.

*CaStLe*CaStLe*CaStLe*CaStLe*CaStLe*CaStLe*CaStLe*CaStLe*CaStLe*CaStLe*

"Beckett," Esposito said, approaching. "I got the manager of the store on the line. He's meeting me outside the owner's building. There are cameras inside and outside the store, but only the ones inside the building record to an in-house security system. Outside cameras, he doesn't have the info on. We're going to meet with him to see what we can find out about the outside camera recordings. However, he said he hadn't reached the owner yet."

"Do what you can," Beckett told him before returning her attention to the file in front of her.

*CaStLe*CaStLe*CaStLe*CaStLe*CaStLe*CaStLe*CaStLe*CaStLe*CaStLe*CaStLe*

"Beckett! Got the tape," Ryan called as he walked into the room. Interrupting her, Ryan headed for her desk with a CD in hand.

Glancing at Castle who was already moving in their direction, Beckett loaded the disc and turned on her desk speakers. They gathered to listen as she cued up the recording.

_"9-1-1. What is your emergency?"_

_"There's a man and lots of blood. He's not moving. My wife and I cut through an alley on our way home and he was just here,"_ the male voice babbled.

_"Sir? Can you tell me your name?"_ the dispatcher questioned.

_"Grady Johnson."_

"_And what's your wife's name?"_

"_Joan."_

_"Alright, Grady. Can you tell me where you are right now?"_

_"The alley off 42 in the 5000 block. Runs from 7__th__ to Avenue of Americas. "_

_"We have someone on the way to you right now. Please, just stay on the line with me until they arrive. Have you checked to see if the person has a pulse?"_

_"My wife did. She said there isn't one. There is so much blood."_

_"Help is close, sir; please, just try to stay here with me, okay?"_

_"Yeah, okay."_

_"Is anyone else nearby?"_

_"No. No one."_

_"Alright. Sir, help has pulled up at an entrance to the alley from 42. Can you see where that might be in relation to you?"_

_"Yeah, it's about 5 yards to our left."_

_"Alright, sir. They're coming right now."_

_"I see a police officer."_

_"They'll help you from here , sir."_

_"Thank you."_

A click signaled the end of the recording as the group shared a look.

"Lines up with what the couple told me," Ryan commented, flipping back through his notes from the interview with them.

"Good. Pack it in for the evening and come in with fresh eyes tomorrow," the Captain cut in from where he stood nearby.

"Sir?" Beckett questioned.

"It's more than half past three, Beckett. You all need some sleep, and so do I."

"Yes, sir," she agreed. "Ryan? Head out and let Esposito know he can go home."

"Yeah, boss. Night, Captain; Castle."

Castle grabbed his coat and headed to the elevator with a jaunty salute in Beckett's direction and a nod to Montgomery.

"Goodnight, sir," Beckett told her retreating Captain who joined Ryan and Castle in heading to the elevator. She closed out the program running the recording and began to pack up the CD to take down to the evidence locker. Leaving it lay on the corner of her desk, she returned to the preliminary forms for the scene.

*CaStLe*CaStLe*CaStLe*CaStLe*CaStLe*CaStLe*CaStLe*CaStLe*CaStLe*CaStLe*

"I know it's usually more difficult getting you out of here than the rest of us," Castle stated as he slid back into his chair, "But, you've got to be as exhausted as the rest of us, if not more, and you know as well as the Captain does that we're at a standstill until we get more info tomorrow."

"Castle," she said, dropping her head into her hands and rubbing at her temples.

"Kate," he stopped her. "What's going on? You've been acting…off all day. Talk to me," he implored.

"It's not like it's any of your business," she snapped back, still not looking at him.

"Oh, so you've talked to Lanie about it then?"

"If you couldn't tell from the way she left our scene in a hurry, she doesn't have time for chit chat tonight, Castle," she ground out, jaw clenched.

"Then tell me. Come on, Kate. Please? I'm worried; I know you usually snap at me, but you've bitten just about everyone's head off today besides the Captain and I'm pretty sure that's only because he can do something about it if you did it to him too."

Resting her head in her right hand, she rolled her head enough to meet his eyes. Her guard down, she let him see the exhaustion wasn't the only thing weighing her down. "My dad."

"Is he okay? He hasn't..?"

"What? No!" she interrupted, straightening. "It's nothing like that."

Castle reached over to lay a hand on Kate's arm. "Then what is it?" he questioned, gently.

"He's here, visiting."

"And, that's not a good thing? Shouldn't you be excited to get home to spend a little time with him?"

"I'm happy he's here, but he's brought along his new friend."

"Friend?"

"Her name's Jennifer. Apparently, they've been seeing each other casually for a few months."

"That's good?"

"Not really; at least, I don't think so yet." She turned to study her computer screen again as he waited her out. "I just…I don't like her. Just seeing them interact, it gives me this gut feeling that something's off. It's nothing like what he had with my mom," she tried to explain, still focused on the screen. After the silence dragged on, she turned to him and added, "You can comment now," with more exasperation clear in her voice.

"I don't know if you want to hear it," he murmured. At her pointed look, he held out his free hand up to placate her. "It's just that, you see your mother with your father – isn't it hard to image anyone else with him as being right when you're comparing them to her?"

"I want him to be happy."

"That we both know," he agreed, giving her arm a squeeze from where he hadn't removed his hand.

"It just feels weird being there with them."

"Come on. At least get out of here for a while," he urged. "You need the Castle Cure-All even if you don't go home yet."

"Castle…" she started in warning.

"Wait! I meant ice cream," he defended, moving out of her reach. "Though if you'd prefer to keep your mind off it by finding some Heat, that could work too," he added, winking, as he watched her slip into her coat and pick up the CD.

Sliding closer to him, she waited until he relaxed and grabbed his ear, squeezing. "Let's drop this off at evidence lock-up on the way out," she commented leading him towards the elevator by the ear.

"Apples! Apples!"


	4. Chapter 3

**12.20.10** I'll be honest. This isn't my best or favorite chapter. Beckett is very OOC and there's a slightly different, little backstory for Castle. However, I've had laryngitis for over a week and bronchitis, for sure, since Thursday. Maybe you're not interested in excuses, but I feel like I got ran over by a semi about 3 or 4 times; so, any revisions will wait. Sorry. Enjoy! ~BC

* * *

"Let me take your coat," Castle said, shutting the loft door behind them and leading Beckett further inside.

"Thanks." Without argument, she handed over the garment. Watching him, she nervously crossed her arms as she observed.

"Well, we've got chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry," he stated, moving around her into the kitchen area and making a beeline for the freezer. "Then, we have an assortment of toppings: chocolate syrup, hot fudge, caramel, marshmallow sauce, sprinkles, and whip cream. Oh, and, maybe gummi bears unless Alexis ate the last of them."

"Jesus, Castle," she commented, rolling her eyes.

"Hey, don't knock it 'til you try it," he defended. Pulling bowls from the cabinet, along with a plethora of spoons, he began to set up an all-out ice cream buffet.

"Chocolate," she finally ordered after observing him through most his work.

He complied by scooping out a generous helping of chocolate ice cream and eyed her as he doctored up the bowl to his own specifications. A drizzle of marshmallow sauce went first and then he pulled a pack of Oreos from a cabinet. Crumbled Oreos topped the sundae with a few shots of whip cream.

"No comments until you taste it," he told her, sliding the bowl over to her. "It's Alexis's favorite."

Beckett eyed him as he began to make his own sundae and took a tentative bite. Surprise lit her eyes and she began to dig into the chocolaty concoction. "This is really good," she enthused.

"You don't need to sound so shocked," he stated, a fake pained look on his face. "I am known to have good ideas from time to time."

"Poor thing," she mocked, stretching across the counter to pat his cheek. "It'll be okay; I won't tell the boys if you cry because your feelings are hurt, Ricky."

"You know, when I was, I think, seven, Mother was in a show for a summer that toured up and down the East Coast. There was this woman in the cast, Tabitha, and she never called me anything, but Ricky," he said while moving around to take a stool. "I hated it and it drove me crazy when Mother encouraged it – it wasn't tough, ya know? She even got her daughter who watched me during the rehearsals and shows doing it." Rick stopped long enough to take a few bites of ice cream. "Tabby actually passed away just before Alexis was born. Meredith would only agree to Tabitha for a girl if the boy option would be Richard Junior, called Ricky." He let out a depreciating laugh. "Mere was always good at hitting where it hurt when she wanted to get her way."

"I'm sorry, Castle," she admitted, laying her hand on his forearm. Squeezing gently, she went back to eating her ice cream and let him think in peace.

"Well," Castle said after he had let most of his ice cream melt.

"My mom was the one who started calling me Katie," she told him, locking him in place with her words. "Dad told me she used to call me Katie-bug when she talked to me while she was pregnant. That nickname came out occasionally too, but by three she was almost strictly calling me Katie. Most people stop with time, as you grow up, but she never did. Then, after she was…gone, Dad couldn't bear to call me Katie and I didn't want to hear it. It freaked the crap out of one of my college roommates the way I snapped after she jokingly called me that."

"Oh, Kate," he started, but held his thought when he realized she still had more to share.

"Lanie never called me that when we first became friends, but she got to witness the fall-out from when Will did. I held it together through the rest of dinner, but managed to skip out on the rest of the evening. I barely made it in the cab before I broke down – made the poor cabbie feel sorry for me – and showed up at Lanie's just like that. I think that her being around for that made me okay with the few times she's let it slip." Meeting his eyes, she swiped at the stray tear that escaped. "I'm sorry; I'm being a horrible guest."

"KB," he stopped her, with a hand on her wrist as she started to move away. "I'm glad you told me. Really. And, I know nicknames are sacred." When she wouldn't meet his eyes again, he desperately searched the room in hopes of finding a distraction of any kind. "There's a Bogart marathon on still, I think. Want to see which movie's playing?"

"I guess," she gave in with a shrug.

This was definitely not the Kate Beckett that Richard Castle knew. In hopes of shaking her from this rather unsettling mood, he guided her to the couch and flipped on the tv. "Ooooo, Maltese Falcon. Aesome!"

Kate perked up as the movie continued, finally adding in comments and occasionally quoting lines.

"Bogart much?" Castle finally questioned.

"Jealous, Castle?" she teased, scooting close enough to gently elbow him in the ribs.

They sat on through the end of the movie, barely moving except for a quick bathroom break – for Beckett - and to grab some wine – on Castle's part, and seamlessly merged into watching Casablanca as well. They grew weary, but watched on.

*CaStLe*CaStLe*CaStLe*CaStLe*CaStLe*CaStLe*CaStLe*CaStLe*CaStLe*CaStLe*

"Gram. Hey, Gram!" Alexis whisper yelled as she poked her Grandmother.

"What? Oh, morning, Kiddo," Martha greeted. "Guess finding that box really wore me out. I was going to head back to Chet's as soon as I found it," she said more to herself than to the young girl.

"Later, Gram. Right now, you need to come see this," she urged. Pulling her grandmother by hand, Alexis led the way downstairs as she motioned for the still talking woman to hush.

Martha quieted as she realized that there were two very different types of shoes laying near the couch. She tiptoed close behind her granddaughter to peer at the occupants of the couch.

Beaming, she watched her granddaughter do a silent happy dance before leading the girl back to the stairs. "Get ready," she instructed. "We'll head out for breakfast and leave the lovebirds in peace. Let's just hope she leaves your father alive when she figures out where his hand is."

*CaStLe*CaStLe*CaStLe*CaStLe*CaStLe*CaStLe*CaStLe*CaStLe*CaStLe*CaStLe*

_Let me know how you felt about it?_


	5. Chapter 4

**12.27.10** _Thank you much to those who wished me well and reviewed. It would be nice to say I feel better, but I still don't. However, I'm off work this entire week and, minus the next three days, I should have plenty of time to write. I'll probably try to get an extra update to you for New Year's Eve. Enjoy this one. ~BC_

* * *

Rick wasn't sure what woke him as consciousness slowly filtered in, but then felt the vibrating against his hand again. Cracking open one eye, he found a curtain of brown hair in front of him. He stiffened as he realized just who that brown hair belonged to, as well as whose phone in the back pocket of their jeans was vibrating against his hand. He slowly tried to slide his hand away, but was interrupted by fingers pinching the skin between his thumb and fore finger, hard. "Apples! Apples!" he called, managing to roll them both off the couch.

Kate stared at the man lying above her, still holding him captive by his hand. She squirmed just enough to grab her phone. "Beckett," she said in greeting. She shot a hard glare at Castle as he opened his mouth to speak, pinching just a tad bit harder. "What's up, Karpowski?"

She hummed in acknowledgement a few times and let go of Castle's hand to mimic pen and paper so he'd go get her some. "Yeah, hang on a second," she said, sending a small smile of gratitude to Castle. "Got it. St. Vincent's, room 627. I'll be there soon. Thanks, Karpowski."

"Coffee and I'll explain," she said. Beckett wandered towards the bathroom after seeing Castle headed straight to the coffee maker.

*CaStLe*CaStLe*CaStLe*CaStLe*CaStLe*CaStLe*CaStLe*CaStLe*CaStLe*CaStLe*

Pouring two cups, Rick set one on the far side of the counter in front of one stool while he stood at opposite side. He kept a wary eye on his Detective as she returned and slid onto the stool.

"We have a new witness," Kate told him. "Or, we will have. Apparently, Esposito and the manager finally reached the owner last night about the same time that the Captain told us all to go home. He set up for the manager to accompany Esposito to the firm where their outside security cameras are monitored and he would go in this morning in the manager's place. When he came in, every case in the front room had been smashed and cleared. He called it in right away. Karpowski caught the call. When they cleared the building, a girl was found trussed up with duct tape in one of the closets and dressed similarly to our backdoor victim. Karpowski accompanied her to the hospital. I'm meeting her there to see the girl and then I'll have CSU and the boys meet me at the precinct about 8:30. She said I also have a message from Lanie to meet her in the morgue at 7:30 too."

"Let's go then," Castle said, turning to grab for the carry mugs for their coffee.

"Castle. No."

"But…"

"Drink your coffee. As soon as I drink this, I'm headed home to get a quick shower and change clothes. You need to do the same."

"You won't go see the girl without me?"

"Or Lanie." Reaching across the counter to still his fidgeting hands, she reassured him. "I'm not trying to leave you out, Castle. I promise."

"Then, let's focus on getting you in and out as quickly as possible," he proposed, all signs of worry gone. "All I need is a good twenty-five minutes to be ready."

"Castle."

"Well, maybe thirty," he mumbled to himself. "I could definitely do thirty."

"Castle," she repeated, voice more forceful.

"It's not even 6:30. I think we can totally swing this."

"Castle!" she finally yelled. She waited until, wide-eyed, he met her gaze. "Finish your coffee. I'm going to do the same and then head home. Just make it quick and then head over. We'll leave from there."

"To your place?"

"Well, I kind of doubt I'm going to go shower and find my clothes elsewhere, Castle," she pointed out, sarcasm clear in her voice. "I'm going to assume you can handle that like a grown-up; of course, you know what they say about assuming."

"I won't be making an ass out of either of us, thank you very much," he shot back. "And you don't have go ahead and take your attitude out on me in advance."

"Castle," she sighed. Meeting his eyes, she braced herself. "I'm sorry. I'm not being fair to you. Just call when you get there and I'll meet you downstairs," she says, going to pick up her coat and pull it on. "I'll see you later," she said, moving towards the door with her gaze downcast.

Castle watched her leave, the eminent meeting obviously weighing heavily on her. Picking up her still almost full coffee cup, he moved it to the sink and took his own with him as he headed upstairs.

*CaStLe*CaStLe*CaStLe*CaStLe*CaStLe*CaStLe*CaStLe*CaStLe*CaStLe*CaStLe*

_Review?_


	6. Chapter 5

**1.3.11**

_Happy 2011, guys! I know I didn't get the planned extra update on New Year's Day, but we're about half an hour early for this Monday's update. I am, however, finally feeling better. I'm back to work tomorrow after a ten day vacation, so I'll try to get even more ahead of the game before the college classes I teach start. Thanks for the reviews guys! Enjoy this one! ~BC_

* * *

"Katie-bug?" she heard softly from the kitchen.

"Dad? What are you doing up?" Kate questioned, walking into the kitchen.

"Couldn't sleep," he answered. "Are you just now getting off work?"

"I was at Lanie's for a while before I caught a case about one or so with the boys. I'm actually just here to get showered and changed so we can meet a victim at the hospital."

"You have time for breakfast before that?"

"Dad, I'm sorry; I can't," she said, backing out of the room.

"Jim? What in the world is with all the noise?" came a voice, getting closer to the kitchen. "I'm trying to sleep, like normal people do. Katherine. You finally made it home. It's wonderful to see how much time you're spending with your father after he made all the arrangements to be here." The sarcasm in the statement was clear to all three.

"Jennifer…" Jim started.

"No. Dad, it's okay," Kate cut in. "I've gotta go get ready." She hurried from the room, anger tightening her chest. She closed the door to her room and began to get ready, hearing Jennifer's rant to her father about her behavior continue.

*CaStLe*CaStLe*CaStLe*CaStLe*CaStLe*CaStLe*CaStLe*CaStLe*CaStLe*CaStLe*

"Hi," Jim Beckett greeted as he opened the door to the man he recognized only from the author photo on Kate's favorite books.

"Hi, Mr. Beckett. Sorry for the intrusion," Castle apologized.

"It's no problem. Come on in," Jim invited.

"Who are you?" the woman who entered the room questioned, no warmth in her voice.

"Honey, this is Rick Castle. Come on into the kitchen so you can sit those down," Jim said of the donut box and coffee carrier in Castle's hands.

"And, just what makes you think you can show up at this time of the morning and disturb our sleep?" the woman questioned. "Do you realize how utterly rude your behavior is?"

"Thank you for the treats," Jim cut in, laying his hand on the rooms shoulder and reinserting himself into the conversation.

"No problem." Following the pair into the kitchen, he placed both on the counter. Flipping open the box lid, he plucked out a bearclaw and a chocolate iced donut. "These are for you guys," he said, nodding to the rest of the box. "I hope you enjoy. If you'll excuse me?" he murmured, laying the chocolate one on top of one of the coffee cups and loosening another. "I'm just gonna…" Jerking his head to indicate Kate's closed door, he slipped down the hallway to deliver his gift. Rapping quietly on the door, he waited a moment before cracking open the door to whisper, "Beckett!"

The door opened just enough for a person to enter before she was dragging him inside by the arm. "Oh, thank God," she murmured, stealing the coffee. Motioning him to follow, she stepped back in the bathroom and set the coffee on the counter. She picked up her straightener and returned to running it through sections of her hair. "I thought I was meeting you downstairs?"

"How many times do we have to discuss just how well I _don't_ listen to you?"

Beckett rolled her eyes in response.

"See! You know it's true!"

A small smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. "Is that my bearclaw you're holding hostage over there or what?" she said, changing the subject.

"Ah, yes. For you, madam," he answered, relinquishing the delicious pastry. "Bon appetit."

"Thanks, Castle," she said, taking a bite and then laying it on top of the coffee cup.

"She's awful," he offered after quietly studying her while she worked to get ready. "Real Wicked Witch of the West."

Swiping the straightener over the last section of hair, she unplugged the straightener before turning to face him. "Rick," she commented, stopping him as he moved to exit the bathroom in front of her. "Thank you. Really," she said, looking anywhere but at him.

"It's the truth," he assured her. "Let's get out of here before she decides to sic the flying monkeys on us and then hold us hostage."

With a nod, she grabbed the coffee and pastry to follow him out into the bed. She let him poke around the room as she set the coffee aside to finish preparing for the day. She started with her father's watch, quickly followed by her mother's ring. Her gun and badge were next as she finished up. "Let's roll out, Castle."

They made a quick stop by the kitchen for him to grab his coffee and donut while she kissed her dad goodbye, before heading to the door.

*CaStLe*CaStLe*CaStLe*CaStLe*CaStLe*CaStLe*CaStLe*CaStLe*CaStLe*CaStLe*

"Hey, Karpowski," Beckett greeted as she joined her outside a hospital room. "You and Reynolds caught the break-in call?"

"Yeah. As soon as the Captain got wind of where we were, he notified me to give you a call; too much of a coincidence for it to not be corrected, right?"

"That'd be my guess. Where'd you find the girl?"

"In a closet. She was dressed all in black like your guy, duct taped as well, and left in the closet. Obviously hit her head somehow. She just regained consciousness and the doctor is in with her now." She nodded in acknowledgement as the doctor stepped out to meet them. "Doctor Gray, this is Detective Kate Beckett. She's working a connecting case. What can you tell us?"

"Detective Beckett, it's nice to meet you. Our patient seems lucid enough and I have a name for you, but I'm afraid we're going to need to go ahead and run some tests before I let you talk to her. We just want to be sure, of course."

"We understand. Thank you for your time, Doctor Gray," Beckett assured the man.

"I'll be staying with her the whole time since we aren't sure if someone is out to hurt her or what the exact situation is. We'd rather be on the safe side," Karpowski explained. "I can wait outside, but I'll need to at least be in the vicinity of the victim."

"Yes, of course. I'll send a nurse down to take her to the MRI and she'll know to expect you along – but, understand, that if you try to start questioning her, this arrangement be ended." Once she nodded her agreement, he continued. "She says her name is Amanda Bossetto."

They thanked the doctor as Castle joined them and watched him walk away. "Let's go, Castle," Beckett said. "Karpowski, I'll call the station as soon as we're outside and have the station send over a uniform to stand watch as soon as possible. Meeting at the precinct at 8:30. We're going to build on both cases and go to the scene from there to see what else we got."

"See you there," Karpowski agreed as the two headed out.

"We're not meeting the vic?" she heard Castle question as they walked away.

*CaStLe*CaStLe*CaStLe*CaStLe*CaStLe*CaStLe*CaStLe*CaStLe*CaStLe*CaStLe*

"Lanie?" Kate called as Castle followed her into the morgue.

"Down here, girl. Morning, Castle."

"What've we got?" Beckett questioned after they finished exchanging greetings.

"A definite cause of death," Lanie answered. "It was the GSW. Size of it says it should be a .38, but the CSU guy will have to confirm that from the bullet they pulled during the meeting. Plus, medical records for Karpowski's victim just came over on the fax."

"I figured she'd have them sent over. The doctor was taking the vic for some tests to make sure she was okay when we left," Kate explained.

"I'll look them over on the way up, but looks pretty cut and dry," Lanie commented. "Look, I got my photos and files ready. You want to hear this twice? Or you want to just hit pause until we're all together? I won't lie; I would rather only have to answer the questions once, but that's your call, girl."

"Let's head upstairs," Kate said, motioning towards the door. "We're cutting it close and I'd like a chance to sit down before our meeting starts."

*CaStLe*CaStLe*CaStLe*CaStLe*CaStLe*CaStLe*CaStLe*CaStLe*CaStLe*CaStLe*

"Go, Castle," she said, catching him glancing towards the guys gathered in the break room for the fifth time since hitting the floor.

He glanced between Beckett and the break room one more time before vacating his chair and heading towards the guys. "Morning, all!" he greeted loud enough she could hear him.

"Girl, you better believe we're having lunch today," Lanie said, taking Castle's seat.

"Lanie," she sighed, exasperatedly, and barely glanced up from the pile of files that had found a new home on her desk. "It's an open case and, if things go like I think they might, we'll be working this as one case instead of two."

"Ya know, if you can look me in the eye and tell me that this little visit your dad and his 'friend' got goin' on is working out well, I'll drop it. Otherwise, don't even bother and I'll see you at the diner around the corner about noon."

"See you at noon," she muttered, making the M.E. smile, self-satisfied.

"Now, I believe I hear coffee calling my name. Enjoy your files," Lanie commented, heading towards the boys.

She perused the files in peace until a mug of coffee appeared on her blotter. "Fresh cup?" Castle inquired, motioning to the cold and almost empty take-out cup she had been carrying since they left her place that morning.

"Thanks, Castle. File?" she offered, holding out about half the file for him to help her go through in the short ten minutes before everyone joined them. "You can put your speed reading skills to good use."

"Certainly, Detective," he accepted, setting his cup down beside hers.

* * *

_Review?_


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